


Proposal

by WolffyLuna



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Killian centric, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 04:33:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9701900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolffyLuna/pseuds/WolffyLuna
Summary: Killian proposes to Carey.





	

**Author's Note:**

> written for day two of tazladyweek "favourite romantic relationship between women"

Killian ran her fingers over the etched details of the bangles. The waves and and feathers dug deep into the metal, and shone brighter than the surrounding metal. Her finger running wasn’t admiring the craftsmanship, as fine as it was.

It was nerves. These were not ordinary bangles. Nor were the for an ordinary occasion.

Or an ordinary person.

Like humans, Orcs traditionally gave jewellery as a proposal gift. Not rings. They gave bracelets, richly decorated with symbols of love and good fortune. (Even waves for fair weather and fair fortune, pigeon feathers for life long love, thatch for a strong home-- The jeweller talked her ear off, and Killian just nodded.)

She used the little bits of sneaking skills she’d picked up from Carey to hide them. Carey might not have understood what the bracelets meant, but Killian didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Acquiring them didn’t take too much skill; she’d gone to visit family anyway, and they were easy enough to buy in her hometown. After that, she’d hidden them in an empty bolt box. No reason for Carey to go looking through her bolt boxes.Though if she did, that would raise questions of why she was hiding bangles.

Carey stuck her head around the door. “We still on for six tonight?”

Killian dropped the bracelets back into the box, hoping she hadn’t seen. “Yeah, if you still are.”

“Avi wants to spar, but I should still be ready by then.”

“See you then then.”

“See ya!”

One Carey had left, she slipped the box into a handbag. Not her normal fashion, but good enough for carrying a single box to a date, and not completely out of character. She fumbled the box, nearly dropping it a full two inches away from the bag opening.

Her palms sweated.

Nerves.

Nearly getting caught wasn’t the only reason for them.

There was a little voice in her head, the worry wart voice, the always wrong voice, that said she was going too fast. She was rushing in, moving too fast, going to scare off Carey. And even if the voice had never been right in the past, that didn’t mean it wasn’t _loud_.

She would regret it if she didn’t ask soon. Almost certainly. They were in a dangerous line of work— This Candlenights, she nearly _died_. If it hadn’t been for Carey and her sharp eye, she’d be a pink statue right now. It’s very hard to propose or be married when you’re made of crystal.

And Killian did want to be with Carey for the rest of her life. Carey had admitted to similar things, during late night rambles and star gazing.

She just had to push past the fear, and ask.

She’d do it tonight. It was their normal date night, so that wasn’t too much of a surprise. And the restaurant they’d go to was normally quiet this night, so if worst came to worst, few people would have to see the ‘No.’

Tonight was her best chance.

***

The restaurant seemed louder, busier, though when Killian counted bums on seats, it was exactly as busy as it always been. The room smelled of hot oil and salty steam, and hisses and bubbles worked their way out of the kitchen

Carey looked up from her plate of potstickers. “You alright?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” It sounded way less confident out of Killian’s mouth than it had been in her head. This shouldn’t be so nerve wracking. Give bracelets, explain bracelets if needed, wait for Carey to say yes. Which she was going to say, definitely. Why would say no? (A little voice in her wondered if that was just an attempt to delude herself, that Carey saying no was more likely than she thought. Killian pushed that thought down.)

“You’re bouncing your leg. You only do that when you nervous.”

“No, I’m not--” She paused and checked. Her leg was bouncing. Pretty fast, too. She put her heel back on the floor, and tried to will her leg still.

Carey laughed as she chewed, holding a hand over her mouth to hide half eaten food. “I know you too well.”

Killian had planned on waiting a little longer (not for any strategic reasons, more nerves really) but if Carey had already worked out Something Was Up, there was no point prolonging it. Especially if she didn’t want Carey gently making fun of her tells all through dinner.

She took the box out of her bag, and passed it to Carey.

Carey opened it.

“Do you know what they are?”

“They’re very pretty bracelets.” Carey held them up to laugh, appraising all the details. Killian stifled a laugh. It was adorable when she did that, halfway between admiring the craftsmanship and trying to work out it’s value on the open market. The fact she went cross eyed when she did it only made Killian want to laugh and boop her on the nose more. “Especially the etching.” Killian could almost hear Carey thinking ‘Acid etched? Is there a trademark inside, and who’s it from?’

“It’s an orcish tradition. I think humans have something similar, thought I’m not so sure about dragonborn.” Not for lack of looking, though. Surprisingly, the Bureau library was much more focused on magic and history than the marriage traditions of dragonborn. “When you want to marry someone, you give them a gift of jewelry. Bracelets with symbols of family and home usually.”

Carey looked up from the bracelets, wide eyed. Stunned, as far as Killian could tell.

“I want to marry you,” Killian said.

“For, like, love and shit?”

“Love and shit, yeah.”

“Uh, there’s something I need to go grab. Bee-Arr-Bee!” She leapt out of her chair, and sprinted out the door.

The bracelets sat on table, hidden behind a plate of dumplings.

Killian looked up from them. Carey raced across the quad, out of the lamplight and into the darkness.

“What the fuck?” She said it quiet, without much conviction. It was the only thought Killian could process. Carey had just... run away? Like, full on ran off into the night at the thought of a proposel. Not even a ‘Sorry, I’m not ready’ or some other vaguely polite excuse, just fleeing.

_What the fuck?_

They loved each other. And sure, plenty of people who loved each other didn’t get married, but-- She was certain Carey would say yes. Or at least not _run away_. Carey had said she wanted to be together forever.

Maybe she’d just said it lightly, not really meaning it. Maybe she’d just lied.

Killian had misread thing badly. Not just in a little way, in a big fucking way. There was no way of coming back from a failed proposal. The incompatibility is just too huge then, your desires too mismatched. Things don’t work out when one of you wanted to get married and the other didn’t. That’s when shit breaks.

And if she hadn’t asked, they could have still worked out as couple. As ‘just’ girlfriends. The running away was the obvious fracture, but it wasn’t what caused things to fall apart. It was the asking.

She should have waited longer. Then, maybe Carey would have said yes. They wouldn’t have to break up because _someone_ had gone and rushed in. (Though, maybe she should have never had asked--)

But she had asked, and now she sat alone as Carey ran off into the night.

A waiter walked over. “Is everything alright?”

“Well, the love of my life just fled when I proposed to her, so things are going great. Best they’ve ever been.” As soon as she said, Killian regretted snapping at them. The part of her brain responsible for sensible decision making instead of emotional outburst appeared to have run off with Carey.

The waiter retreated, the awkwardness of the situation significantly above their pay grade.

Killian looked at her plate. The dumplings smelled good (the food here always did), but she couldn’t bring herself to put it in her mouth. It wasn’t nausea, or a feeling of fullness, it was like her stomach and-- gone. It wasn’t there anymore. Most of her wasn’t there anymore. All she had had left were burning eyes and pit dropping from her throat to her feet.

She pressed the heel of her palms to her eyes. She didn’t have any tears to stop, but she did it any. It was the principle of the thing.

Killian walked over to pay the bill. Carey wasn’t coming back. If she was coming back, she’d be here by now. The moon wasn’t that big. Plus, even if she had just spooked, there’d been time to reconsider. To come back. To return

Carey had actually run away.

After this, Killian intended to get utterly sloshed. If you couldn’t get blackout drunk after your girlfriend _ran away_ from your proposal, when could you? It’d be a challenge to drink stomachless, but it was worth a shot.

She handed the bill sheet over to the teller. “Could you tell the waiter that I’m sorry for snapping?”

“Certainly. Though honestly, I get where you were coming from. That’s rough.”

Killian gave tight lipped smile. She thought they’d been quiet with the whole thing. Nope. Gods, the whole moon was going to know by next morning. Great. Just wonderful. There’d by pitying, side taking, the whole shebang! Just what she needed after this.

The door slammed open, the bell jingling loudly. “Killian!”

She turned around.

 

Carey ran in, carrying a box. It wasn’t graceless, Carey never was, but she didn’t move with her usual accuracy. She slid the last few metres on her knees.

“Yes?”

The box was distinctly duck shaped. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

Killian dropped the coins on the counter, still staring blankly at Carey. This was beyond unexpected, it was inexplicable. ‘Sorry for breaking up with you, here’s a duck box’? That wasn’t Carey’s style at all. (Neither was fleeing, but well, Killian couldn’t be right all the time.)

Carey opened the box, and inside sat a carved wooden ring. “Er, jinx?”

“Really?” Killian held a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were watering again. This felt deeply silly, but still. Carey wanted to marry her! Hopefully for real!

“Why would I lie?”

“Well, you’re a rogue, for a start.”

“Killian!” Her tone was mock offended, not the real deal.

She did really want to marry her! For really reals! Even ignoring the accidental emotional rollercoaster, this was the best thing that had happened all year.

No, _ever._ She was going to marry the love of her life, for real, and if things worked out they’d get to retire alive at the end of this and stay together for the rest long lives-- She felt like she was about to cry. Happy crying always sounded fake to her, but she could feel her eyes getting hot and wet.

She crit-failed her save against actually crying.

Carey leapt up and hugged her, grabbing her around the chest. “Killian--”

She wrapped an arm around to support Carey’s weight. “Don’t apologise, this is like, the best thing ever.”

The rest of restaurant was applauding. Oh gods, the rest of moonbase would definitely know by the morning.

Then again, it saved on having to give out invites.


End file.
